'Late Show' gig has been a gas for Paul Shaffer

Monday

May 11, 2015 at 12:01 AMMay 12, 2015 at 10:26 AM

NEW YORK - Hidden in the attention paid to David Letterman preceding his May?20 retirement is the knowledge that it also means the end of a regular TV role for bandleader Paul Shaffer. The gravel-voiced sidekick, 65, isn't ready to leave show business, even with the gig of a lifetime coming to a close after 33 years.

NEW YORK - Hidden in the attention paid to David Letterman preceding his May 20 retirement is the knowledge that it also means the end of a regular TV role for bandleader Paul Shaffer.

The gravel-voiced sidekick, 65, isn't ready to leave show business, even with the gig of a lifetime coming to a close after 33 years.

"Of course, I had the old mixed feelings, sadness, etc.," Shaffer said during an interview in his office behind the Ed Sullivan Theater.

"Now, I have come around to just being absolutely thankful for such a wonderful run, such a long run, working for a guy who has been nothing but encouraging to me."

Shaffer is a walking trivia answer of show-business credits: bandleader for the original SaturdayNight Live troupe, same role for the Blues Brothers, part composer of the 1980s hit It's Raining Men and the Late Show theme, cringe-worthy record executive Artie Fufkin in This Is Spinal Tap and music director for the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions.

If he hadn't neglected to return a call from Jerry Seinfeld call, he might have been known as George Costanza, too.

He will always be linked in the public consciousness with Letterman, however - like Ed McMahon with Johnny Carson or Andy Richter with Conan O'Brien.

Until he interviewed for the bandleader job that began in 1982, Shaffer hadn't met Letterman.

He was asked what he foresaw for Letterman's post-midnight Late Night on NBC, keeping in mind that the show could afford only a few musicians. He envisioned something like the lounge bands he heard at the beginning of his career in Toronto: a lead keyboard player and a couple of other instruments, interpreting Stax and Motown hits.

Letterman said that sounded great, that he'd always thought of himself as the Wayne Cochran of comedy. Shaffer cracked up at the reference to an obscure 1960s soul singer who looked a little like Jay Leno with an oversize platinum-blond pompadour.

The slot after Carson, Shaffer said, "sounded like the hippest opportunity, like in Las Vegas when a performer would do a late, late show for the other performers or cabdrivers on the strip. That's how I related to it. It was all perfect for me."

Although he started at a time when his five years at one job, on Saturday Night Live, seemed like an eternity, Shaffer was never tempted, he said, to leave Letterman. He has had the freedom to do other things while Late Show let him lead a band: perform in front of an audience, do sketch comedy and match wits with the hottest TV host.

Through the years, Shaffer has become like a security blanket to Letterman - a host who likes things just so.

Shaffer interjects quick remarks - "Instagram that right away," he said after his boss took a selfie one recent night - or leads the band through a snippet of Tequila for a Top Ten List about Cinco de Mayo parties.

Sometimes, he simply breaks the silence with an "Ah" or a slight cackle.

Next week, the CBS Orchestra - expanded beyond the bare-bones band that Shaffer had in the NBC days - will disband.

Shaffer has his options; he plays a little jazz and wants to continue to pursue comedy.

"This was such a long run, so, if I'm meant to get a gig in a piano bar in Palm Springs, . . . I'm not too worried at this point," he said. "I feel like I've had a lot of fun. How can you keep having all the fun? Eventually, you've got to let others have some fun."